Kurunegala District SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday (22) said that the Opposition should contest the upcoming Provincial Council elections as a common alliance.

MP Jayasekera emphasised that those genuinely interested in thwarting the NPP government efforts to suppress the Opposition should be ready to make whatever sacrifices to reach a consensus as soon as possible. Jayasekera stressed the need to agree on chief ministerial candidates at provinces where the grouping intended to contest.

The former Minister said so when The Island asked him whether the Opposition was ready to move beyond the declarations made at the UNP’s 79th annual convention, held over the last weekend at Imperial Monarch, Sri Jayewardenapura, Battaramulla.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) that won 145 seats at the 2020 parliamentary election, too, was represented by its General Secretary and Attorney-at-Law Sagara Kariyawasam. The SLPPhas been reduced to just three members in the current Parliament.

Former ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka and Udaya Gammanpila were also present.

MP Jayasekera said that if Opposition political parties failed to reach an agreement, they would have to face the consequences. Accusing the NPP of dragging its feet as it feared to face the electorate, due to declining popularity, MP Jayasekera said that the main Opposition SJB and the UNP have major roles to play in forming the alliance.

The SJB parliamentary group consists of 40 members. The UNP does not represent the current Parliament, though the CWC that contested the last general election, under the UNP’s ‘Elephant’ symbol, secured one seat from the Nuwara Eliya district.

Provincial Council elections haven’t been held for over 11 years. The last Provincial Council poll was held in Uva on 20 Sept., 2014.

MP Jayasekera said that government representatives tried to sabotage the Opposition efforts by calling them thieves. “The government sought to influence public opinion against the Opposition by claiming they were getting together in the face of legal action,” MP Jayasekera said.

Declaring their efforts couldn’t be undermined by such accusations, the former Minister said that the releasing of 323 containers, including some red flagged ones, in late January this year, in a high handed manner, violating basic rules, had exposed the ruling party. MP Jayasekera said that no less a person that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who also held the Finance portfolio, owed the public an explanation regarding the mysterious release of containers, MP Jayasekera said.

Responding to another query, MP Jayasekera said that the SJB’s recent complaint to the CIABOC regarding the asset declarations made by four Ministers, namely Wasantha Samarasinghe, Sunil Handunetti, Bimal Rathnayake and Nalinda Jayatissa and Deputy Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, failed to receive sufficient media coverage. Having accused all previous governments of having collectively ruined the national economy, the NPP lawmakers had to publicly admit that they were well off. “If the situation had been so bad, how could unemployed Wasantha Samarasinghe ended up with assets amounting to a staggering Rs 275 mn,” MP Jayasekera asked.

Obviously, the majority of NPP lawmakers hadn’t been affected by the economic crisis that led to the Central Bank declaring a moratorium on debt repayment, in April 2022, the former Minister said.

Pointing out that Anura Kumara Dissanayake failed to secure 50% plus 1 vote of the total polled at the presidential election in September last year, MP Jayasekera said that the NPPer polled over 5.6 m votes whereas the SJB candidate Sajith Premadasa (over 4.3 mn) and Independent candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe (over 2.2 mn) together polled over 6.5 mn.

MP Jayasekera said that though the NPP increased its tally to 6.8 mn at the parliamentary election last November, Local Government polls results revealed a significant drop in its vote bank.

The SJB and UNP paid a very heavy price by failing to reach a consensus ahead of the presidential, parliamentary and Local Government polls, MP Jayasekera said. “If we sink our differences, the NPP can be certainly defeated at the Provincial Council polls,” MP Jayasekera said, pointing out that those who contested under the symbol of the New Democratic Front (NDF) won five seats at the general election. Wickremesinghe gave the leadership to the NDF, with former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, as well as ex-Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, on its National List.

By Shamindra Ferdinando